Western Union, the money transfer company, has begun offering "no fee" money transfers to Haiti today, the company tells the Haitian Reporter. The company says the offer is good on "any amount sent to Haiti from the United States, Canada and France... for a period of seven days, once service is reestablished throughout the country, when sending money to Haiti from the U.S., Canada and in France, in cooperation with our Agents."

The International Committee of the Red Cross has set up a missing persons database that can be used to track the whereabouts of loved ones.

A Haitian-American family in Philadelphia is getting text messages from their uncle in Delmas who is seeking relief aid at the Diatsu dealership there. They have posted an appeal at CNN.com

New England Cable News covered tonight's emergency meeting held at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End.
Related: Menino, state leaders roll out plans for Haiti response

City to open resource center for local families and offer direct outreach to Haiti

Editor's note: The following is a press release issued by Mayor Tom Menino's office at 5:40 p.m. today:

Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and Paul Kirk are calling on President Barack Obama to lift a ban on granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to all Haitian nationals now living in the U.S.

On the anniversary of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, the Reporter goes back into its archives for a look at how we covered those first hours. Below is a record of that coverage, starting just minutes after word reached Boston.

Tuesday, Jan. 12
(5:50 p.m.)- Haiti, a country besieged by deadly hurricanes and grinding poverty, has experienced yet another catastrophic natural disaster today. CNN is reporting that the island nation has been rocked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake centered some 10 miles off the coast of the capitol Port-au-Prince.

Kenson Calixte, a Haitian-American from Abington, has talked to two relatives on the ground in Delmas, a community about 15 miles from Port-au-Prince. Calixte said they reported widespread devestation, including a hotel that had collapsed.

"My uncle said he'd never felt anything like this before," said Calixte. "The house shook and there was much damage inside the house. There are houses that have collapsed in his neighborhood."
"My cousin thinks there are casualties there at the hotel. He was walking the street saying there are a lot of people hurt."

The Somerville Arts Council has issued a call to the Haitian community for entries for an event "An Evening of Haitian Film & Video to be held on Feb. 4, 2010 in Union Square.

The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld Frantz Kebreau's convictions on charges he raped and assaulted his daughters repeatedly over several years.

With the fate of health insurance for 30,000 legal immigrants hanging on the choices legislative leaders will make in the coming days, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Gov. Deval Patrick made a "good and compelling case" for maintaining the coverage.